Electrolytic plating machine



Feb'. 22, 1927. 1,618,199

ooooeaea nooo ooooao oo oooeoooa @ou oooooo o ooooo v1,618,199 Feb. 22,1927. J. HULMER ET AL l ELECTROLYTI'C PLATING I MACHINE Filed May 1,45.` 192e 4 shams-sheet :s

Wifi/6556s. 9 .Xa @var dbf@ @5j @Wm f@ y fm Patented' Feb. 1927. A l v JOSEPHHULMERYAND xAsPAR JONAS, or 'cHcAeaILnINors 'o nLEorRoLYrrc rLATING MACHINE.'

Application led Hay 15,

Our inventionv relatesto' electrolytic plating machines, and the samehas for itsmam object toimprove generally in the construe# tion andarrangement of the parts ofa ma.

5 chine of this character.

Other objects of our invention are to rovide a poweroperated machine .of kthis c aracter for plating articles in bulk; and to provide a machine which will be vsimple 1n l construction and arrangement, efiicient and durable in use and which will l*embody certain desired 'features of convenience.

Another lcharacteristic consists in the embodiment of features of construction which l will vadmit-of the'ready adjustment of the position ofthe anode elements within the power driven tumbling barrel. `Other objects will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the combinations and arran ements ofpartshereinafter de- The invention .will be be'stunderstood by reference 'to the accompanying drawin s forming a ypart of this specification and 1n which,

Fig. `1 represents a longitudinal sectional view through the solution holding tank and an end view of lthe .tumbling barrel, the shaft which supports. the barrel upon .the tank being shown in section; i

Fig. 2 represents a sectional plan view aken vsubstantially on the' line 2-2 of F'g. 3 represents a vertical section taken substantially on the line 3.-'3 of Fi 2;

Fig. 4 represents a vertical cross-sectional' view. taken substantially onthe line 0f Fig. l; and

Fig. 5 represents a fragmentary detail.4

'the driving shaft 7.

showing the arrangement of the brush contact through which current is passed to the ring conductor arranged on the end of the tumbling barrel. f

In the accompanying drawings, wherein we havev illustrated the preferred embodi.- ment of our. invention, 6I designates a tank for designates a driving shaft operatively mounted in suitable bearings 8 arranged upon the top edgese9 ofthe solution holding tank; and 10 designates a tumbling barrel which is mounted upon the. driving shaft 7 -to be rotated thereby through the plating solution 1 1 contained in the tank 6. To

made in angular which are also holding lthe plating solution; 7 A

1926. serialm. 109,271.

Vbetter induce aftumblin'g action upon Vthe toy be plated, the' 12 are provided with closely Vassociated perforations 13. 4

In carrying out our improvementsy as iiilustrate in the accompanying drawings, we mount iupon the 'tank and 15 for carrying anode elemen ts 16 closelv adjacent to the .periphery offtlie tumbling barrel. lThe bus bars are .mounted vin suitable insulation '17.;arf'- rangedin bearing brackets-18 which are bolted u pon the top edges of the solution; holding tank 6.

form in cross section (Fig.y 3) so thatthe anode elements therefrom by means of hooklike headsgl ymade lin angular .form -in order to have conforming'fit'fuponthebus' bars. Said anode elements 16 are curved longitudinally appliedjto the bus bars, they will .curve closely about the periphery. of the barrelf A 2, 20 designates l a rheostat forv regulating the current andthe same is` connected with a suitable source Vof current through -a supply wire 21.. n From the rheostat the bus bar 14 for supplying 'the current to the anode elements 16 dependingtherefrom. The, current Hows from bus bar 14 to bus Referring to Fig.

bar 15 through a 'conductor bar 23 whichv is.v j bowed at 24 intermediate its length to rest.

upon a conductor lwheel 25v mounted upon material.

current The bus bars 14 and vl-are 16 may' be .hung

as shown in order that, when 20 a supply wil-e122.A leads vto butv insulated therefrom by abushing 26 made of suitable-insulating -23 passes from the bus barl 14 to the kconductor-'wheel 25 and as .vellto the other bus bar 15 for supplying current tov aroundl the inner pethe anode elements 16 hung therefrom. Extending entirely ripheryofthe barrel are. two spaced cathode strips 27 which are secured in anysuitable manner tothe angularly connected -cross strips 12 where they nected at intervalsby cross cathode. elements 29 to jointhe ends 28 of. the barrel. Said cathode strips 27 are .con-.

which the plating solution DQWS" side anodes 16.

present improvements, ,we l

pende'd frointlie driving zshat, 7 in such i manner that their positions rel `atively to V.io

' `cathode's arranged onthe periphery the cathodes may readil =varied.".'1`o' this end, we providef` il. pair o mounted to have tlieir loops resting upon the driving shaft 71 and to have their arms straddling the same as clearly shown in Fig. 3. Slidable upon each arm oleach' of the U. hangers is a suitable carrying arm 32 which is provided intermediate its length with an elongated slot 33`for the reception of a bolt ele1nen't'34 having projetion from the associated hangerV and adapted to receive a securing wing nutY 35. vUnder -this arrangement, each of the lcarrier arms 32 may be adjusted atwill upon this supporting U hanger. Mounted upon the' lower extremity'of each carrier arm is 'ii-cylindrical body 36 made vof porcelain or other suitable insulating material. Set in an annular recess 37 provided in each cylindrical body 36 isl a metallic ring 38 carryinga projecting terminalfpin 39. Mounted upon 'and depending from each terminal pin '39 is a. 'conductor rod 40. The anode elements 30 v.are supported on the lower v extremities of these conductor rods 40, vit 'being 'noted 'that through the foregoing arrangement 'of adjustable elements one anode element 30 can be suspended within theplating-liquid lfrom the U hanger arms extending down lromone side of the shaft 7 while the other anode element 30 is similarly suspended 'in opposed relation within the plating liquid from the arms of' the U hangers extending down from vthe opposite side of said shaft 7. The pairk ot anode4 elements 30 are thus suspended from the driving. shaft 7 for adjustment towards and away from'V the path of movement off te lo t 'e vtumbling barrel. j

"through the opening Cgrrent is taken from the 'conductor wheel 25 'located outside the v tumbling barrel yand passed.tovaconductor wheel 4l on the inside of the'v tumbling barrel by lmeans of 'a conductor bar 42 `'which extends Said conductor of the 'tumbling' barrel.

wheel 41is'made fast with the' driving shaitt'o turn therewith and is mounted uponan intervening bushing M of insulating material.- vLoosely surrounding the conductorfwheel 41 and held in position therel Y 45 is a conductingy onl by suitable flanges ring`46 providedwith' two terminal posts 47. :Flexible conductors 48 are employed to connect the terminal posts 47 withgthe 'pins 39 at the adjacent ends otl the suspension structure, whereby to supply `-current According to an 'ieaturleof our. proyide a Y'pair g of inside anode elements'f'Owhich 'are sus-' U hangers .31"

' shaft.

43 provided in the end to the two anode elements 30. In the present embodiment, the tumbling barrel revolves in a'counter-clockwise direction as indicated by the arrow 49 (Fig. 3). A bulk of articles, placed within the barrel for plating, are naturally carried upwardly Vinthe-direction ofthe `rotation of the barrel and then tumbled, (or tend 'to tumble) backwardly 4'toward the low point of the barrel. To prevent the articles from contacting with the-anode lelements as. they tumble downwardly over each-other, we preferably provide a shield 50 which depends from a plate 5l securedk A'upon the carrying arms just over the ldriving shaft 7 by means ot nuts 52' which are threaded uponsaid carrying arms both above and below said plate 51 as clearly illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. VThe shield 50 is thussupported for ad- `ust1nent along with the lcarrying arms and 1s also capable of adjustment `independently thereof.

53 designatesa lid4 which forms part of the periphery of vthe ltumbling barrel and which is removable in order to provide a suitable opening throuvh which vtol introduce the articles into i move them therefrom. Attached to this removable lidV 53 are cathode sections 54. which yform part of the encircling cathode strips 27. Suitably arrangedonthe'inside faces of the barrel ends 28 are ledges 55 forthe support of a cage 5.6 enterablc and removable through the peripheral 'opening for which the lid 53 constitutes theclosure. Said' cage 56 is open at itsinnerend' so that when it is placed upon 'the ledges 55 and the barrel revolved the plated articles will tumble into the` cage whereby 'to be re moved. By preference the driving shaft 7 is operated by power taken from anclectric motor as 58, there being kanysuitable arrangement of gearing provided to transmit the power from the motor to said driving T he cathodes serve as'the n'ieans by which the current is led 'fromthe electrolyte, the

the barrel or to rei cathode vstrips 27 being Aconnected for this purpose wih an outside ring conductor 59 y means otspaced apart pin conductors 6() which extend transversely through the barrel end as clearlyl shown in Fig; 2. Both vthe ring conductor 59 andthe pin conductors 60v are suitably insulated from the barrel. Arranged to wipe the ring conductor 59 is a'brush 6l which is supported upon the top edge of the tank by'ineans of an insulation plug 62. Said brush conductor has a terminal 'post' '63 with which is connected a' return wire 64 which leads backv to the source of power andin which is incorporated a suitable controljswitch 65.

The 'current may be traced through the rheostat 20, ysupply wire 22, bus bar 14 and thence to the anode 16 depending therefrom. From said bus bar l1&1 the current gasses over the `conductor bar 23 to theother us bar 15 and anode' 16 depending therefrom. Current' is also taken 'fromy the con-v ductor arm 423 by the conductor wheel; 25 and passes through the conductorl bar42,

conductor Wheel 4l, conductor ringG, ter- -minals 47, flexible conductors'l, terminal pins 39,Y andY cnductor reds()A to the anodes l vnection between the inside `Wheel and said 30. The Areturn from the vcathodesl is 'effected throughy the conductor pins 60, 4cornil'uct-or vring v'59,' 'brush l'fa'nd' negative return Wire-64.l t f `While we'havejillustrated and described the preferred form of constructionfor carrying our invention into eiect,fthisis capable vof variation and modification withoutdeparting fromv the spirit of the invention. We, therefore,dj 4notlvvisli to be limited to the precisevdetail's of.` construction set forth, but ldesire to avail ourselves of ysuch `variations and modifications as come withinthe scope of the appended claims.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new' and desire to secure byLetters .Patent is:

1. An electrolytic plating machine including .a solution holding tank; a shaft rotatably supported in the tank' and carrying la perforated tumbling barrel for vrotation through the solution containedtherein ,stationary U-shaped hangers bearingA on .the

shaft'with A,their arms depending on opposite sides thereof; and means arranged von sald arms for carrying anodes v1n the solu- Vtion within said tumbling barrel,.substan tially as described.

2. An electrolytic plating machine includinga shaft-rotatably supported'on ythe tank and -carrying a perforated tumbling barrel for rotation through the* solution contained therein; 4non-rotatable hanger means having bearing on the shaft. Within the barrel;

a dependingI conductor insulatively carried by the hanger means; an anode. carried by the conductor; and a supply wire extending toand connected with said'conductor, substantially as described.

3. In an electrolytic plating machine, the combination with a perforated tumbling barrelshaft supported for rotation through plating solution, of non-rotatable hanger means havingbearing on the shaft Within the barrel; a depending conductor insulatively carried bythe hanger `means and supporting an anode; a conductor wheel carried by but insulated from the shaft; an electrical connection between said wheel and depending conductor; and a conductor which, forms part ofa supply line electrically engaging said WheeL-substantially as described 4. In an electrolytic plating machine, the combination with a perforated tumbling barrel shaft supported for rotation through plating solution, of non-rotatable hanger means'having bearin on lthe shaft'within the barrel; a depen ing conductor insulativelycarried by the'hanger means and supportmg an anode; a vpair of conductor wheels carried bybut `insulated vfrom the shaft, one

4being inside the barrely and the other. being iollfatside .the same; a supplyline leading to the) outside wheels; an' electricalgconnection bet'wensaid Wheels; and an electrical condepending' conductor, .substantially as dej scribed.

5. An electrolytic plating machine including -a solution vholding tank; a shaft rotatab y vsupported on a the tank and carrying ahperforated r,tumbling barrel for rotation -through' the solution contained therein; Kstationary U-shaped hangers bearing on the lshaftvvith their arms depending on opposite sides thereof; carrying arms arranged on" the hanger arms and extending above and A below Vthe same; a shield supported on the upper ends of the carrying arms; and means on v`the lower ends of said arms for suspending anl anode in the solution within the ,90 barrel; substantially as described.

6. An electrolytic platin machine including a solution holding ta a shaft rotatably supported on the tank and carrying a perforated tumbling barrel for rotation Vthrough the solution contained therein; nonrotatable hanger vmeans having bearing on kthe shaft within the barrel; carrying arms ing depending support on said carrying arms; said carrying arms being adjustable von the hanger means to vary the position of the depending anodes relatively to the path of movement of the cathode elements, substantially as described. i

8. The combination with -a perforated tumbling barrel shaft supported for rotation through plating solution, of cathode elements in continuous arrangement around the innerperipheryof the barrel; non-rotatable hanger means having vbearing on the shaft Within the barrel; carrying arms associated with the-hanger means; anode elements l1avling depending support on said carrying arms; said carrying arms being adjustable on the hanger .members to vary the position ofthe depending anodes relatively t the path of movement of the cathode elements; and a shield arranged on andadjustable with the carrying arms -for protecting the anode elements, substantially as described. l

' 9. In combination, a solution holding tank; a perforated tumbling barrel; a driven shaft sup rting said barrel for rotation through tiig solution in the tank; cathode elements in continuous arrangement around `,the inner periphery of the barrel; anode elements in the tank curvingr about the barrel; means for supporting anode elements from said shaft within the barrel and comprising p non-rotatable hangers having ,bearing on said shaft; carrying arms adjustably associated with said hangers; 'depending conductors attached to butk insulated from lsaid carrying arms and supporting the anode elements; Vand electrical connections between the anode elements in the tank and the aljustably supported anode elements within 'the barrel, substantially as described.

ably suspending anode elements 'from said' shaft comprising U-hangersstraddling said shaft and having their loop portions bearing thereon; carrying` arms having sliding contact with vthe arms of the Uhangers;'means for securing the carrying arms lto-the arms of the U-h'angers in adjusted position; in` sulation pieces on "the carrying arms.; and

.conductor elements mounted on and depending'from said insulation pieces for carrying the anode elements, substantiallyl as def" scribed.

In witness whereof we havejsigned our names to Vthis specification. y

JOSEPHHULMER.

KASPAR'JONAS. Y 

